


Expressions of Affection

by eerian_sadow



Series: Melodies of Life [17]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Bathing, Kink Bingo 2013, M/M, kink without smut, kink: washing/cleaning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a rough battle, Prowl gives Sideswipe some much needed pampering.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Expressions of Affection

**Author's Note:**

> written for the 2013 round at kink_bingo, this piece fills my "washing/cleaning" square. it's set nearly 1 year after "Growing Pains or The Time Prowl Was A Child Again" and explores the growing intimacy between Prowl and Sideswipe

"You look terrible," Prowl said, helping Sideswipe sit up on the medical berth.

"Thanks for noticing." Despite the tactician's support, the frontliner slumped forward against the other mech. Prowl might have worried, but the contented sigh Sideswipe gave indicated the action was deliberate. "You're okay, right?"

"Not so much as a scratch," the black and white mech assured him. "I wasn't even required to leave the command center."

"Good. I don't care how much ass you can kick; battles like that one are not the place for you." Sideswipe snuggled closer and wrapped his arms around the Praxian. "Or Blue or Smokey. Those doorwings are too much temptation when the Cons are in a limb-ripping mood."

"Indeed." Prowl traced the barely cooled weld line, where Ratchet had reattached the red mech's arm. "It is something I would rather avoid, no matter how much you and your brother enjoy it."

"Sunny maybe, but I'm not so into it." Sideswipe sighed. "So has Ratchet said I can go yet?"

"He released you into my care ten minutes ago."

"Oh good. Let's get out of here, then. I want to get cleaned up before the minibots use up all the hot water."

"Hedonist." The tactician smiled as he helped his lover off the berth.

"Oh, you know it." The red mech grinned in return. "Especially when it involves a trip through the wash racks."

"Then you will most certainly enjoy this trip." Prowl guided the other mech toward the door.

Sideswipe perked up a bit. "Oh? What have you got planned, Prowl?"

"You'll see." The tactician continued leading the frontliner down the hall toward his quarters, despite the fact that Sideswipe didn't really need the support.

"Aww, c'mon, Prowl!"

"You'll see," the black and white mech repeated. 

"Killjoy," the red twin muttered. The way he stayed snuggled against the older mech's side took any sting out of his tone.

Prowl continued down the hall, smiling softly as he led Sideswipe to his quarters. The younger mech followed, curious but knowing not to badger the tactician unless he wanted to be marched off to his quarters and dumped in his berth instead of receiving his surprise. Prowl would never leave him on his own if Ratchet said he still needed medical care, but he would refuse him any pampering if he was too obnoxious.

"Think I'm glad we're going to your place," Sideswipe said as they approached the older mech's door. He rested more of his weight on the black and white mech as they walked. "Not sure I could have made it to mine."

"After the list of damage Ratchet said he had repaired, I had thought that likely." Prowl stopped in front of his door and keyed in his lock code. "I think we will both rest better knowing you are safely here."

"Yeah. Closer to medbay if anything comes undone." The red mech shuffled inside when Prowl nudged him forward. "Not that I'm calling Ratchet incompetent, it's just happened before. And... is that Sunstreaker's favorite cleaner I smell?"

"It is." The tactician stepped inside and locked the door. Then he took the red mech by the hand and led him toward his private washroom. "I felt that you would enjoy it more than the base's standard stock."

"Standard stock gets the job done, yeah, but you're right. I'm not quite the Narcissus that my brother is, but I do enjoy the finer things." Sideswipe grinned. "Must be my hedonistic tendencies."

"Or the fact that standard stock smells like the detergent Carly cleans her dishes with." Prowl returned the grin. Then he opened the door to his washroom and stepped aside so that Sideswipe could see the surprise he had prepared.

The red mech took in the bathing pool that was now built into the floor with awe. The sunken pool was huge, easily big enough for both of them, and possibly a third mech if they were so inclined, with sides that sloped at an angle that would comfortably support doorwings. Along the sidewalls, there were padded head rests, close enough together in one place that he and Prowl could relax in the tub and still hold hands. It was filled with steaming water, topped in places with foam from Sunstreaker's cleaner.

"I remembered," the older mech said softly, "How you preferred a bath when you could have one, but that you didn't like the public baths in Praxus. I thought the same would still apply."

"You did this for me?" The frontliner couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice.

"I did." Prowl smiled. "I wanted to save the surprise for our one year anniversary next week, but you seemed to need it more today."

"Thank you!" Sideswipe pulled the Praxian back toward him and wrapped the other mech in a hug. When Prowl returned the embrace, the red mech kissed him. "This is the best gift anyone has ever given to me."

"I'm glad you like it. We should _use_ it, however. Before the water gets cold."

"Mm, definitely." The younger mech released the elder and made his way to the edge of the pool. Once he was alongside, he could see a set of stairs built into the corner facing the door. He stepped down carefully--he could already tell they would have to discuss adding a handrail for times when one or both of them had been injured--and into the water.

He hissed as the hot water over stimulated the sensors Ratchet had recalibrated during his repairs. It didn't hurt precisely, but the sensation was much more intense than he'd been prepared for. Once the prickling passed, though, the water felt wonderful.

"Is it all right?" Prowl asked, wading in behind the red twin.

"Oh, it's perfect." Sideswipe stopped in the water and let it lap against his thighs soothingly. "Deep enough to dunk in for a rinse and everything. Just needs a handrail for those stairs, on the days I'm wobbly from repairs."

"I will have Grapple install it tomorrow." The black and white mech wrapped his arms around his lover and rested his head on the red mech's shoulder. 

"Great." The frontliner tipped his head so that he could lean it against the tactician's and simply let himself enjoy the moment until his knees began to twinge threateningly. "Prowl, I gotta sit."

"Yes, of course. I should have thought of that first." Prowl loosened his grip on Sideswipe and turned toward the closest headrest position. He guided the red mech to it, and helped him settle carefully into the submerged seat below it.

Sideswipe hissed as his sensors were briefly over stimulated again, then sighed as the hot water seeped in the seams in his armor and soothed the non-metallic components beneath. His joints relaxed as he settled in and his earlier weakness faded to memory as he gave in to his body's need for rest. The red mech let his head thump back against the padded rest and he gave the black and white mech a tired smile.

"I could recharge right here."

"You could, but I have a perfectly good berth." Prowl knelt down in the bath and rested his hands on the red mech's legs. "And if you did recharge here, you wouldn't get cleaned up."

"It would be worth it." Sideswipe's smile widened a bit. "I could clean up in the morning."

"The bath isn't going anywhere. I will get you cleaned up and you will have a decent recharge in an actual berth." The black and white mech reached into his subspace and pulled out a soft sponge and a bottle of Sunstreaker's cleanser. "You can soak for as long as you want any other time."

"Yeah, on a night when I'm not being offered cuddles by the best enforcer to walk a beat," Sideswipe agreed. Then he paused as all of Prowl's words caught up to him. "Wait, you'll get me cleaned up?"

"Yes." The tactician opened the bottle and poured some of the cleanser on the sponge. Then he reached for Sideswipe's left leg and lifted it out of the water.

"Prowl?" The red mech looked surprised, and a little concerned, but he didn't try to pull his leg out of Prowl's grasp.

"I want to do this for you." Prowl placed the sponge on the bottom of Sideswipe's foot and began scrubbing. He moved it in small circles, loosening dirt and battlefield grime before sweeping it away with a second or third pass. The older mech spent almost five minutes ensuring the bottom of the foot was clean, then moved up the plating. 

Sideswipe's sensor net was already tingling pleasantly, like he'd had a fantastic detailing, and Prowl had just barely started.

"In Praxus," the tactician said, still scrubbing in those careful circles along the side plating of the red mech's foot, "Bathing another Cybertronian was considered the deepest symbol of trust and love that could be expressed. It is, to us, one of the most intimate acts that can be performed. A Praxian would only ever bathe someone they were bonded to, or were planning to bond to."

The frontliner felt his vents stall at the implication of Prowl's words. The tactician had said he loved him, early in their relationship and often since, but Sideswipe had no idea his feelings went so deep. "You want to be bonded?"

"Someday, yes." Prowl looked up from the plating on Sideswipe's upper foot and smiled softly. "When we're both ready for it."

"Me too." The frontliner smiled widely.

"I'm glad." The soft smile didn't leave the black and white mech's face. He moved his attention up to Sideswipe's ankle, carefully wiping away combat dust and debris from the joint. The red mech sighed and leaned back into the head cushion, relaxing into Prowl's care.

The older mech ran his fingers carefully over the ankle joint, checking for stray particles the sponge may have missed before setting the sponge aside to float in the water. He cupped his free hand and dipped into into the liquid, scooping the water up and pouring it over the freshly scrubbed plating.

Once the dirt and suds were rinsed away, Prowl retrieved the sponge and applied a bit more cleanser. He laid it on the red mech's shin plating, rubbing in long strokes that were a gentle contrast to the scrubbing of his feet. The long strokes removed dirt and laser scoring, revealing bare metal in places that would need touched up later. Once the plating was clean below the frontliner's knee, the tactician set the sponge aside again and rinsed the plating. Then Prowl leaned down and pressed a kiss to Sideswipe's ankle joint before settling his foot back into the water.

"Still feeling all right?" The tactician asked, lifting the frontliner's other foot out of the water.

"Yeah, I'm good." Sideswipe gave him a blissful smile. "Your hands feel nice."

Prowl returned the smile as he began cleaning the red mech's right foot. "If your systems begin to strain, tell me. A hot bath is not a good reason to take you back to medbay."

"I will. Last thing I want is to see Ratchet again today." The younger mech replied. Then he settled back in for more of Prowl's careful cleaning.

Prowl repeated the cleaning process just as thoroughly on the frontliner's right side. The foot and side panels were scrubbed with those same persistent-but-gentle circular motions. The ankle joint was scrubbed and then manually checked for particulate matter. The lower leg, up to the red mech's knee, was washed with the same long strokes. The cleaning was followed by the same tender kiss to his ankle joint before the foot was lowered back into the water.

It was enough to leave Sideswipe's sensor net tingling so pleasantly that it almost felt like the aftermath of an overload.

"Can you stand?" Prowl asked softly.

"Wha-?" Sideswipe had to focus to understand the question. "You want me to stand up?"

"Unless you want me to leave mud and grass in your hip joints, yes." The black and white mech pointed at the red mech's submerged hips. "I can't clean them out under water."

"I bet you could find a way to manage it," the frontliner replied, shaking off his blissful sensory signals. "But yeah, I can stand."

Without waiting for Prowl to ask again, the red mech reached behind him and braced his hands on the edge of the pool. Then he lifted himself enough to get his feet under him and stood, trying to be careful and not strain his still-fresh repairs. He hissed as some of the welding on his abdomen threatened to pull apart.

The black and white mech frowned at the noise. “Next time, let me help you. You don’t have to do everything on your own, you know.”

“I know. Just… I’m used to it, or used to only having Sunny and he’s usually just out of medbay too.” Sideswipe moved his hands from the wall to Prowl’s shoulders. “Believe me, i’ll ask next time.”

“You had better.” Prowl reached into his subspace for a tool to use to scrape the mud out of the red twin’s hip without damaging it. “It’s not just you and Sunstreaker against the universe anymore.”

“Hasn’t been for a long time,” Sideswipe agreed, turning to the right so that the Praxian could clean the joint more easily.

The tactician scraped the mud and grass from the frontliner’s hip with the same careful precision he had used on his feet. Each pass of the tool was followed by gentle fingers, checking for damage that had been hidden by the muck or caused by the tool. Once he was satisfied with the lack of dirt in the joint, Prowl retrieved the sponge, added cleanser again, and washed the joint out. Then he moved down Sideswipe’s thigh plating with long, firm strokes that removed the mud and grass that had run down the red mech’s leg as he worked. Finally, he carefully scrubbed out the younger mech’s knee joint and wiped the plating clean.

When he was finished with the red mech’s right hip and leg, Prowl pressed another kiss to his abdominal weld. “Turn.”

Sideswipe obeyed, turning to the left and presenting his other hip to the older mech.

The tactician stared at it for a moment before reaching inside and running his fingers over the joint. “This is the one Devestator crushed? Ratchet did a good job rebuilding it.”

“It barely hurts,” The younger mech acknowledged. “Pretty sure he got all the mud, though.”

“He did,” Prowl agreed. Then he applied the sponge to the joint and carefully wiped away the remaining traces of Ratchet’s repair work. Carbon smudges and metal shavings were soon removed, leaving only the metal of the joint behind. 

The tactician moved on from the joint as he had with the frontliner’s right side, moving down to the thigh plating and cleaning it with the same firm strokes. Then he cleaned out the knee joint with the same careful precision as the first. When he finished, he pressed another kiss to the weld on Sideswipe’s abdomen.

“You’re affectionate today.” Sideswipe cupped one of the tactician’s cheek plates in his hand and brushed his thumb gently over Prowl’s lips. “I think I’m getting spoiled.”

“Good. I want you to feel spoiled.” The black and white mech turned his head so that he could kiss the palm of the red mech’s hand. 

“Oh I do.” The younger mech grinned.

“Good.” Prowl nuzzled Sideswipe’s hand before turning away. He returned his attention to the red mech’s plating, and lifted the sponge toward the frontliner’s pelvic plating. “Is this all right?”

The younger mech looked at him in confusion for a moment, before nodding. “It’s more than all right. I trust you. You can touch me anywhere you want to.”

Sideswipe watched as worry that he hadn’t even realized Prowl was feeling evaporated from the older mech’s face. “Thank you.”

They both smiled softly as the black and white mech turned his full attention back to cleaning the frontliner’s plating. Sideswipe’s pelvic plating had suffered less damage than it should have, considering that Devestator had stepped on the red mech, but it was still covered in metal shavings and carbon dust from the repair bay. Prowl wiped them away carefully, using short strokes and rinsing the sponge often to ensure that none of the debris was re-deposited onto clean plating. When he was certain the front was clean, the older mech ran the sponge over the younger’s hips again, making sure the plating covering them was as clean as the joints below. Then he reached around and carefully cleaned the repair dust from the red mech’s aft plating.

Sideswipe’s sensors began tingling pleasantly again as Prowl worked and he hummed happily. The tactician echoed the sound a moment later.

He moved the sponge up the red mech’s plating, cleaning Sideswipe’s lower back with the sponge and his sense of touch. Prowl removed every bit of grit he could find, working in small motions as high as he could reach. Then he carefully moved around to the younger mech’s front, washing repair dust off of side panels before moving onto Sideswipe’s abdominal plating.

The black and white mech’s touch was especially gentle here, where the bulk of Sides’ damage had been done. He washed the area with feather light touches and extreme care, unwilling to cause any discomfort or pain. The frontliner watched, fascinated with the delicate touches Prowl was using to ensure his comfort.

“I know that you would never tell me if it hurt,” Prowl murmured as he worked. “And so I am taking extra care to ensure that it does not.”

Sideswipe was touched by the thoughtfulness. With his pain tolerance, he likely wouldn’t have even noticed, but Prowl’s consideration was spark warming and reaffirmed that he had definitely waited all those vorns for the right mech. “Love you.”

“And I love you.” Prowl paused in his cleaning to look up and give the other mech a warm smile. Then he returned to his work, moving the sponge up from the repaired abdominal plating to Sideswipe’s chest. He cleaned the plating there with firmer strokes, wiping away dust and grit almost to the frontliner’s shoulders before he could reach no further from his current position. “You can sit again, if you want.”

Sideswipe nodded and, using Prowl as his brace, lowered himself back down onto the submerged seat. Then he tugged the black and white mech forward, hugging him close to his chest.

Prowl flailed briefly, shocked by the red mech’s unexpected move. “Sideswipe!”

“Take it easy, Prowl.” The frontliner reached out and plucked the sponge from the tactician’s hand. “I’m clean enough. It’s your turn now.”


End file.
